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Topic: Without God, Life Has No Meaning... (Read 24696 times)

I hear this statement from Christians all the time. In fact, I hear it quite often from my dad (who is still a fundamentalist Christian) and sometimes from old friends on Facebook.

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"Without God, life has no meaning, no purpose, no destiny. Without God our lives are worthless. We are just cosmic dust floating around with no more value than a rock or a piece of dung!"

Now, whenever Christians claim this I can't help but wonder what exactly they are trying to argue (although I do have some hunches). But before I drop in my two cents I wanted to get your thoughts. Is a deity/God thing required for life to have meaning or purpose? Feel free to elaborate on this topic as much as you like - as I'm sure many of you have heard this diatribe as well.

" We are just cosmic dust floating around with no more value than a rock or a piece of dung!"

In the grand scheme of the universe, I agree. We weren't always here, and we wont always continue to be here. I'm speaking of both individually, and as a species.

But that doesn't make our lives worthless, or without purpose. Our worth and purpose is how we interact with, and what impact we have, on the individuals and the world around us for the time we're here.

I am not sure our lives have a meaning even with god in the picture. If so please describe our meaning.

In the grand scheme of things individually and as a species we have no meaning. The biomass we make up in this universe is less than a spec and our longevity even less spectacular.

My life on the other hand has meaning to my children, my wife, a couple of hundred thousand cell phone customers and me. Do I make a difference in the cosmic makeup of the universe? Not that I know of but I enjoy the little accident of nature/physics that resulted in me.

My dog enjoys it's life eating, chasing a ball, barking at squirrels and sleeping on my chest. I doubt she thinks about her meaning or what impact she will have on the universe.

Let me ask this, Why does my life need to have a meaning of any significants? How will that make me happier? Would I be happier if a guy in the sky made me? No!

I am on the fence as to whether I would like to continue on past death and my physical remains. So it would be nice to continue to exist as long as I wanted to. But it is not a pre-requisite to my happiness or to the lives of my family.

It sounds more like godfolks trying to shove their SPAG god down my throat by once again telling me I'm worthless. I have no problem with being cosmic dust and trying to convince me I'm "all that" if I fall on my knees to junior is pretty silly. Prove to me we are all crap/worthless unless you bow to junior and I'll think about it - what makes them so special after they say magic words?

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If xian hell really exists, the stench of the burning billions of us should be a constant, putrid reminder to the handful of heavenward xians how loving your god is. - neopagan

Well, unless the current human experience has an eternal future, whatever “meaning” or “purpose” the non-theist is motivated by seems to become rather limited in terms of value. I've never been a non-theist, though, so I can only speak from the Christian viewpoint.

Same statement, same problem: it's a non-sequitur.Why is life meaningless without a higher being to give it meaning? Why is the higher being the only one that can give life meaning? Why can't lower beings give their own lives meaning?On another note, does the higher being's life have a meaning? If there's not an even higher being to give that lower higher being's life meaning, then, by the theist's own logic, the lower higher being's life has no meaning. And, on that note, why should I trust someone whose life has no meaning to give my life meaning?

The truth is absolute. Life forms are specks of specks (...) of specks of dust in the universe.Why settle for normal, when you can be so much more? Why settle for something, when you can have everything?We choose our own gods.

Well, unless the current human experience has an eternal future, whatever “meaning” or “purpose” the non-theist is motivated by seems to become rather limited in terms of value. I've never been a non-theist, though, so I can only speak from the Christian viewpoint.

OK, speaking as a theist, what meaning does your life have in the grand scheme of things?

Well, unless the current human experience has an eternal future, whatever “meaning” or “purpose” the non-theist is motivated by seems to become rather limited in terms of value. I've never been a non-theist, though, so I can only speak from the Christian viewpoint.

I'm going to be making some assumptions based upon my understanding of what 'Christian viewpoint' means, so please correct as necessary.

Whatever 'meaning' or 'purpose' the Christian is motivated by seems to become rather limited in terms of value. And by limited, I mean devoid of any value. What 'meaning' or 'value' can one derive from catering to the whims of an entity that can make manifest any and all outcomes and realities that it sees fit to manifest? How much value is there to your donation of $1 to a charitable fund that has infinite resources? Is there any difference, value wise or meaning wise, between you giving $1, $10,000, $Eighty-bajillion, $10^(avagadro's number) to such a fund?

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"When we landed on the moon, that was the point where god should have come up and said 'hello'. Because if you invent some creatures, put them on the blue one and they make it to the grey one, you f**king turn up and say 'well done'."

OK, speaking as a theist, what meaning does your life have in the grand scheme of things?

Most non-theists have a good understanding of the Bible and Christianity....even though they dismiss it as being representative of a real god. Assuming you possess even some basic knowledge about the God of the Bible, I doubt you need me to answer this for you. If I'm wrong, though, and you are unfamiliar with God then some simple research will reveal what God's purpose for us is.

OK, speaking as a theist, what meaning does your life have in the grand scheme of things?

Most non-theists have a good understanding of the Bible and Christianity....even though they dismiss it as being representative of a real god. Assuming you possess even some basic knowledge about the God of the Bible, I doubt you need me to answer this for you. If I'm wrong, though, and you are unfamiliar with God then some simple research will reveal what God's purpose for us is.

Other than not worshiping your god, my life is much like any other. I try to help people, I try to be the best I can at what I do, I try to leave the world a better place. If the only significant difference between myself and a christian is that I don't worship god, then the purpose of life seems to boil down to worshiping god. Seriously? God is so petty and insecure that he needs me to worship him? If there is a god, and its got any sense of reason and love at all, then it will see that other than the falling on my knees in worship thing, I'm just like anyone else. So my being saved is contingent on my believing in one specific description of this being, and on guessing right as to which one he is, and then stroking his ego? That's absurd on the face of it.

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If we ever travel thousands of light years to a planet inhabited by intelligent life, let's just make patterns in their crops and leave.

What meaning does any god bring to theists.....other than eternal life or reward/punishments of any religious belief. The meaning theists see is eternal life as a reward for the meaningless existence they have now. They basically rot in the same menial job their parents had,and see the "light " at the end of the tunnel in exchange for 40 years of meaningless labor (employment).

if we could all be smart and rich,we would worry less about meaning of life wouldn't we? We are not all smart enough or lucky enough to gain wealth and as a reward the powers that be preach to us about our reward that comes at our death.

If the rich and powerful had to fight wars would there be any,if they could not profit,would war exist?

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There's no right there's no wrong,there's just popular opinion (Brad Pitt as Jeffery Goines in 12 monkeys)

No, faith in a god isn't needed to give life meaning. Instinctive and learned altruism, affection, curiosity and humor are quite capable of generating positive human experience and goals. Conversely, it's possible to find meaning in activities and goals that have a net negative effect on others. God-belief certainly isn't required for that, either.

Yet the overall progress by the human species in improving its general well-being, especially recently (see the first thirteen timelines in this series: http://www.waitbutwhy.com/2013/08/putting-time-in-perspective.html?m=1) makes me optimistic about our future. We have managed to learn and change so much in the last few centuries and decades; I think we have a good chance of outgrowing our own self-destructiveness.

Well, unless the current human experience has an eternal future, whatever “meaning” or “purpose” the non-theist is motivated by seems to become rather limited in terms of value. I've never been a non-theist, though, so I can only speak from the Christian viewpoint.

All the evidence we currently have points to the very universe (as we know it now) being a transitory state. There is certainly no evidence of anything eternal, despite theist claims. So why should the knowledge that purely human-derived meaning is limited devalue it? It's all we'll ever know or have, this one life. To me, and a great many other non-believers, that makes it all the more precious.

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Live a good life... If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid.--Marcus Aurelius

If there is no God and our world ceases to exist at some point, then the value of whatever you contributed to the world is limited to only that existence and subsequently becomes meaningless.

But this precisely misses the point being made. Why do we need meaning or value on a cosmic scale in order to have meaning or value at all? Your position seems to have assumed that your specific interpretation, of your specific theology, is required in order to have meaning or purpose. Why should we buy your definition of what meaning is?

As has already been remarked, in this argument, the god GIVES the purpose to the individual concerned, so therefore whatever purpose that person has is the god's purpose, not theirs. What they are saying is that they are quite happy to accept the purpose given by another being as the meaning for their lives.

Or, maybe, people decide what they want to do with their lives, maybe take up being a minister in a church, and then claim that this choice they made was actually what their god wanted them to do. Minsters of religion always do this but others in other jobs do too. Is this somewhere near the mark - a person uses the concept of god to give more authority to the choices he makes?

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No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such that its falshood would be more miraculous than the facts it endeavours to establish. (David Hume)

Other than not worshiping your god, my life is much like any other. I try to help people, I try to be the best I can at what I do, I try to leave the world a better place. If the only significant difference between myself and a christian is that I don't worship god, then the purpose of life seems to boil down to worshiping god. Seriously? God is so petty and insecure that he needs me to worship him? If there is a god, and its got any sense of reason and love at all, then it will see that other than the falling on my knees in worship thing, I'm just like anyone else. So my being saved is contingent on my believing in one specific description of this being, and on guessing right as to which one he is, and then stroking his ego? That's absurd on the face of it.

Where do you get the idea that God wants you to worship him?

I never feel that way. I thank God for the blessings in my life but that's as far as it goes. IF WE COULD ALL ONLY SEE THAT OUR PURPOSE IS TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER SO THAT THIS PRECIOUS GIFT WE CALL LIFE CAN CONTINUE INFINITELY. WE ARE HERE FOR A REASON. Everything out there in here it's all one big part of everything!!!

It wouldn't hurt you guys and ladies to step outside the phony religions and see that it takes a MUCH Greater Force to be so patience. To let this planet evolve over time into the perfect habitat for several different life forms to exist. It was no coincident that the dinosaurs were wiped out, mankind could not have survived as well with such large predators hunting them down. We would be more like rats hiding underground to keep from being somebodies supper. Then there is that added bonus $$$ fossil fuels. I see no coincidences here at all these are things that could only be accomplished by a brilliant, compassionate and loving Creator/ the force that holds it all together. IMO

Hope this day finds you doing well... prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God - if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. Maya

Most non-theists have a good understanding of the Bible and Christianity....even though they dismiss it as being representative of a real god. Assuming you possess even some basic knowledge about the God of the Bible, I doubt you need me to answer this for you. If I'm wrong, though, and you are unfamiliar with God then some simple research will reveal what God's purpose for us is.

The trouble is, BS, that seemingly every single Christian - despite reading from the same book - has a slightly different understanding of what their god intends. Its why we ask specific Christians, to ensure there is no misunderstanding.

So far as my understanding goes, the purpose for you is to obey in every respect a being whose motivations and desires you cannot fully understand, else he will send you to a place of torment for all eternity. If I've got that wrong, perhaps you could let me know?